1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of the analysis of substances, compounds and any matter in general, and particularly refers to a portable electronic device for discriminating, identifying and analyzing liquid, semi-liquid and solid samples containing volatile components, wherein the general analysis of the matter is based on the simultaneous evaluation of several properties of the samples by a plurality of sensors, preferably sensors having a low chemical specificity, wherein the sensors provide signals that are processed in a computing platform having a pattern-recognizing program and wherein the properties may be associated to what is generally called the odor and taste of the sample. For the purposes of this description the word flavour may be understood as a combination of odor and taste of a sample.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several electronic devices are known today for analysing those properties of any matter associated to the smell and taste thereof.
In relation to the sense of smell the devices have been developed to discriminate the samples having volatile components by detecting and recognizing the mixture components of the sample vapour, the mixture being named “odor” of the sample. Such devices are known as “electronic noses” and the employed methodology is named “artificial olfaction”. Examples of such electronic noses are the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,459; U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,008; U.S. Pat. No. 6,411,905 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,724. Such devices are comprised of arrays of non-specific gas sensors, based in several materials with varied function principles. By the signals generated by the sensor arrays the electronic noses obtain a digital print or sign of each of the analysed odors and, through the use of multivaried-data analysis try to recognize odor patterns.
There are devices that are employed for in-situ quality analysis of agricultural products, U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,008, WO 0107907; for discriminating, by the analysis of a patient's breathing, a medicine the patient has ingested, WO 0134024, CA 2,390,261; for detecting molecular compounds having chiral structures, WO 9940423; for diagnosing pulmonary infections, U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,109; U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,107 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,306.
One of the main drawbacks of these devices is that they analyse only the vapour phase of the sample without resolving the problem of analysing the vapour and no-vapour phases. For example, when analysing wine, said devices are unable of analysing the features of the liquid phase per se.
Another main drawback of the above mentioned devices, such as those of U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,348; U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,107 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,802, is that vapour from the samples are suctioned or draught from a place where the sample is placed and the vapour is carried to a chamber containing the sensors. In the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,658 the vapours from the sample are suctioned and collected, by adsorption, in an adsorbing material, then the vapours are desorbed and finally transported by nay draft means to a chamber containing the sensors. The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,333 employs a similar method. These processes are based in separating the odor from the sample which separation no only needs of two chambers, one for the sample and the other one for containing the array of sensors, but also provide a clear and remarkable separation between the vapour phase and the no-vapour phase.
There are also devices that get inspiration from the sense of taste. Their operation is based in the analysis of a non gaseous phase of a sample using sensor arrays. To this purpose, sensors based on noble metal electrodes may be employed, with the same electrodes producing different electrical potentials according to the substances contained in the sample. It is also known the use of electrodes employing PVC membranes modified with organic macromolecules, surface wave sensors and other devices that modify their electrical or optical properties according to the substances in contact to the sensors. In such cases where a global analysis of the sensors signals can be done such devices are named “electronic tongues”. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,610,367; U.S. Pat. No. 6,627,154 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,541,617, for example.
The main drawback of the electronic tongues is that these devices are only able to analyse the non-vapour, or non gaseous, phase of the sample, therefore the information contained in the vapour phase is completely disregarded. Even when the sample sensed in the electronic tongue could be brought to an electronic nose for further analysis, said analysis would not be done under the same environment conditions under which the analysis in the electronic tongue has been done and, in addition, the time passed between the two analysis leads to another disparity in the sample conditions.
In virtue of the present state of the art it would be very convenient to have a device capable of carrying out the simultaneous analysis of odor and taste in a sample in order to prevent variations in the sample conditions.